Radical preacher Abu Hamza extradited to US

In this file picture taken on April 9, 2004 a bodyguard stands by as Muslim cleric Abu Hamza (right) speaks to his followers outside Finsbury park mosque in London. Radical Islamist preacher Abu Hamza and four other terror suspects have finally been deported from Britain to the United States (US), Home Secretary Theresa May said on Saturday. -- PHOTO: AFP

LONDON (AFP) - Radical Islamist preacher Abu Hamza and four other terror suspects have finally been deported from Britain to the United States (US), Home Secretary Theresa May said on Saturday.

The Egyptian-born former imam was flown out of a military airbase following a legal saga that ended on Friday after dragging on for more than a decade in the courts of Britain and Europe.

Two senior judges at the High Court in London dismissed the men's pleas to be allowed a stay of extradition, and, within hours, they were whisked from prison to a Royal Air Force base in eastern England used by the US military.

"I can confirm that tonight two planes have left RAF Mildenhall", taking the suspects "to the US to face trial," Interior Minister May said in a statement.